Mayoral candidate Steven Kendrick will be working for the Boys and Girls Club of Augusta as a paid consultant to help the organization manage its post-pandemic growth.
“I called him. I had to convince him,” said club CEO Kim Evans. “I told him we would pay him, and he refused to accept any money, but I told him that we needed him to make it a priority, and so I would make sure he got some payment for his effort. We all believe he is the perfect person to help us in our transition.”
Kendrick finally agreed but stipulated that he really could not commit any time until after the election. He also specified that the project had to be finished before the end of the year if he indeed wins the mayoral seat.
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“We are growing so fast, it is hard for us to keep up, and we do need a consultant, but with our budget constraints, we can’t afford to pay someone $100 to $200 an hour to help us with the process,” Evans said.
The Boys and Girls Club received an endowment from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, which gave the organization the funding to hire a consultant, though not enough to pay someone the going rate. Evans said she immediately thought Kendrick, with his long association with the group, might be the perfect person to fit the role.
Initially, Kendrick said he didn’t have time to help with the restructuring, Evans said.
“He politely said no,” Evans said, but she added that the polite “no” didn’t stop her from pursuing Kendrick’s help.
Evans added that the board would be getting Kendrick’s expertise at “a bargain.”
Club officials have proposed paying Kendrick $40 an hour for his work to help them deal with dramatic growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, Evans said. Additionally, the Boys and Girls Club’s recent partnership with HUB for Community Innovation for Augusta requires the organization to redesign its operations.
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According to Evans and Chairman of the Board T.J. Barton, the consultancy salary is the first time Kendrick has ever received any sort of salary or stipend from the Boys and Girls club. Kendrick has served 17 years as a club volunteer and board member.
Kendrick is the right person for the job, club officials said, because of his experience using the “Good to Great Model,” an efficiency model created by Jim Collins, a former Boys and Girls Club member, to help the Augusta Tax Commissioner’s Office become a more efficient operation. Prior to Kendrick’s election as tax commissioner in 2009, the office was known as one of the least efficient departments in city government, and its reputation for customer service wasn’t much better.
Barely a year into his first term as tax commissioner, $25,000 was stolen from the vault in the Municipal Building when an employee did not follow close-of-day procedures, a security guard failed to report the open vault when it was noticed and the security cameras of that floor of the building were not operational.
After that incident, Kendrick went on an aggressive reorganization of the Tax Commissioner’s Office. He has been successful enough at his efforts that the Richmond County Tax Commissioner’s office now provides training for newly elected tax commissioners throughout Georgia, according to Kendrick. The Richmond County Tax Commissioner’s office has provided training for officials in Douglas, Burke, DeKalb, Fulton, Cobb and Muskogee counties, he added.
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“I love the Boys and Girls Club,” Kendrick said. “I have volunteered for almost 20 years with them, and I will do anything I can to help them. I told them they didn’t have to pay me, but they insisted. But honestly, I didn’t know until this afternoon they wanted to give me $40 an hour. The discussions have been really about how much time I can commit, but I am going to do everything I can to help them,” Kendrick said.
The Boys and Girls Club has operated in Augusta since 1952. It is primarily privately funded and has a 97% accountability and transparency rating from Charity Navigator.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
